


take the dive

by m1dnight



Category: Produce 101 (TV), UP10TION, X1 (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Pining, also a bunch of my favorite girl groups that wont show up too much so i wont tag them, enemies (ish) to friends to lovers, lifeguard AU, more ships and characters will be tagged as i add them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-07-20 00:50:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19983322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m1dnight/pseuds/m1dnight
Summary: in which wooseok is a new lifeguard and the annoyingly tall camp counselor with the cute smile is not helping at all





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> im just here to have a good time
> 
> title from "take the dive" by jonghyun
> 
> ty fandomtrash_willow for editing ily :)

“Sooil,” Wooseok said, walking past the other man into the hallway behind him, “I hope you know that I hate you.” 

He was awake at an ungodly hour in the morning (okay, it was nine a.m., but in every past summer Wooseok had made it his personal goal to not wake up before eleven) for the first day of Wooseok’s new job. And it was all Sooil’s fault. 

He looked around him, taking in the less-than-appealing sight of the lifeguard hallway. Although Sooil had explained that when the guards weren’t on duty, they spent most of their time hanging out in Jinwook’s office — Jinwook being an assistant aquatic director and Sooil’s boyfriend — Wooseok did not look forward to having to walk through the grimy hall every day to clock in and grab his gear. 

Sooil laughed and followed him in. “It’s not gonna be that bad, I promise,” he said. “Once you get used to it, you’ll see, it’s pretty easy. Just don’t let anyone drown and you’ll be fine!”

Wooseok turned around to glare at the other man. “You know that’s not what I meant.” 

Sooil sighed, moving around Wooseok to clock in, punching in a four-digit code and pressing his thumb to the screen. “Look, I know that you just wanted to lay low this summer and sulk, but you can’t just live your life without interacting with other people. Everyone here is super friendly, and I know you’ll like them. You might even make friends!”

Wooseok wanted to protest, but he knew that he couldn’t. His parents were vacationing at some friends’ summer home, and had left the house to him for the summer. He’d only been planning on leaving the house for emergency grocery runs. But once Sooil, his longtime friend since childhood, found out he’d be staying in their hometown for the summer, all of his carefully laid plans were destroyed. 

Sooil had been working as a lifeguard during the summer at their local pool ever since he was seventeen, and he was now one of the two head lifeguards during the summer before his senior year of college. Sooil and Wooseok had both swam for the swim team when they were younger, although Wooseok had quit before he could be recruited to work. But this year, Sooil had convinced Wooseok to get lifeguard certified and work with him over the summer, which Wooseok barely remembers actually agreeing to before Sooil had signed him up for a lifeguard class. 

And now, here he was, his first week of freedom after his sophomore year of college, lathered in too much sunscreen and fully unprepared to spend an entire summer, six days a week and eight hours a day, working with a bunch of people he’d never met. 

“You’ll have fun, I promise,” Sooil said, clapping Wooseok on the shoulder and pulling him towards the clock-in keypad. “And at the end of the summer, I’ll get to say ‘I told you so.’” 

Wooseok was about to deny that he would ever be able to say that when he heard a soft cough behind him. He turned around, surprised to find another boy with dark hair hovering hesitantly in the doorway. 

“Uh, hi?” He said, seeming more to be asking a question than introducing himself. “I’m Kim Yohan, I’m here for…” 

Sooil’s eyes widened in recognition. “Yohan! Right!” He turned to Wooseok. “This is Yohan! He’s also a new lifeguard this summer.” He ushered Yohan into the hallway. “This is Wooseok; don’t mind him, he’s a little grumpy, but you’ll like him once he warms up to you,” he informed Yohan. 

Sooil showed Wooseok and Yohan how to input their thumbprints into the system, then directed them towards the boxes of whistles and fanny packs. 

“You have to wear these at all times, even off duty,” Sooil told them, handing them each a white and red lifeguard shirt along with the other gear. There’s a packet somewhere- oh, here- it has all the information for what to do for the opening and closing shifts and all the other stuff we’re supposed to do. No one ever actually reads it, but I’m supposed to give it to you guys anyway.” 

He pushed Wooseok and Yohan outside towards the pool. “We have two lifeguard stands, one on the deep end and one on the shallow end. There’s a diving board in the deep end, but we need to have three guards on duty to open it. If the parents try to bully you into opening it, just send them over to me.” He motioned towards a table by the entrance, shaded by a silver umbrella. “We usually work in shifts of 20 minutes, so you start at the sign-in table, then go to the shallow end, then the deep end, and then if we have more than three guards, you can go on break.” 

Wooseok blinked a few times. “Am I supposed to remember all of that?” 

Sooil laughed. “You’ll get the hang of it, don’t worry.” He pointed over to a couple of white tents set up on the lawn next to the pool. “Those are for the camp kids,” he said. “They’re here from about ten to five, although they only have an hour of pool time, so you don’t need to worry about them too much. Seungyoun and Changhyun are our two full-time coaches, so they’ll be doing lessons with half the kids while the lifeguards watch the other half during their free time.” 

He turned back to Wooseok and Yohan with a bright grin, clearly far more excited than Wooseok was feeling. “Alright, that’s pretty much everything. You guys ready?” 

Yohan looked like he was about to say something, but Sooil cut him off before he had the chance to. “Great! Once people start coming in, I’ll take the first shift, and then you guys can start rotating in. We have two more guards coming today, Gyujin and Sooyoung, but they won’t be here until around noon because they’re taking the closing shift.” 

With that, Sooil left Yohan and Wooseok to awkwardly avoid making eye contact, both of them obviously not pros at social interaction. Yohan cleared his throat, making the first move: “Uh, do you wanna…” he gestured vaguely in the direction of the office that Sooil had mentioned to them. 

Wooseok shrugged, fighting back a yawn. _Damn Sooil and his early mornings._ “Sure,” he said. They both made their way to the office, sitting across from each other in squeaky swiveling chairs. Wooseok endured almost five minutes of the two of them glancing around in silence, looking intently at the same six swimming posters and two calendars (both current, and both still on February) before coming to the realization that he was _not_ going to be able to stand this if this was how the rest of the summer would go. 

“How old are you?” Wooseok asked awkwardly, not knowing what else he should say. 

Yohan, for his part, just seemed relieved that the excruciating silence had come to an end. “I’m going to be a freshman in college in the fall,” he said. He bounced in his chair a bit and winced at the loud squeak that emanated from it. “What about you?” 

“I’ll be a junior,” Wooseok said distractedly, searching for a fan because even though it was only 9 a.m., the heat had already begun to become oppressive. 

“Oh,” Yohan said, before they lapsed into awkward silence again. “Do you um- you seemed to know Sooil pretty well?” 

Wooseok nodded. “We’ve been friends for almost ten years, now,” he said. He looked out the window to find Sooil staging a battle with an umbrella, fighting to open it before realizing he was turning it the wrong way. “Don’t know why, though. He’s a dumbass.” 

Yohan let out a shocked laugh, shifting from his previously restrained, shy demeanor. Wooseok huffed out a laugh at Yohan’s expression, the other finally seeming a bit more comfortable.  


_Maybe_ this wasn’t going to be so bad. 

______________________________

Everything was going fine until the camp kids arrived; from then on, there were at least four and a half hideously embarrassing incidents Wooseok knew he would be replaying in shame in his head all night. 

He was just about to begin his third deep end shift when the camp kids showed up, and by that point, he thought he pretty much had the whole thing down. (Aside from the fact that he nearly broke his ankle every time he jumped off the deep end lifeguard stand. He wasn’t _short,_ but he also was definitely not the optimal height to be jumping off that death trap.)

The camp kids could be heard before they were seen, loudly making their way down from the tennis courts at around 2 p.m. with a group of at least seven counselors herding them. Wooseok watched in abject terror as all of the kids broke free and began sprinting down the pool deck. He shouted feebly after them: _“Walk!”_ But either nobody heard or nobody cared. The girl in the front of the pack of counselors, with short, dark brown hair and a name tag reading _Haseul- Director,_ smiled at him in sympathy. 

“Don’t worry,” she told him. “It would be a miracle if you could get them to listen. Even Gyujin can’t, and some of them are terrified of him.” Wooseok smiled back in relief, glad that he wasn’t about to get yelled at for failing to complete just about the only task his new job had required so far. 

He eyed the rest of the counselors as he made his way to the deep end stand, hoping they would be assisting him in watching the kids and not just assuming that one brand-new lifeguard was capable of keeping over thirty uncontrollable kids from drowning. Apart from Haseul, he counted six more counselors; five girls and one tall, gangly boy. Luckily, they also seemed to realize that the kids would need constant supervision. 

Sooil had explained to him on one of his breaks earlier that the swim coaches would give all the kids a swim test (if they could make it 25 yards without standing on the bottom or, well, drowning, they passed) and if they passed, they would be allowed to use the diving board in the deep end. After that, the younger kids would have their lesson while the older kids played for half an hour, and then they’d switch. 

Just before he made it to the deep end stand, ready to replace Yohan who had gone a little pale at the sight of the campers, Sooyoung, another guard, caught up to him and pulled on his elbow. “Hey!” She said, pointing towards the side of the pool. “Could you help me move this lane line before you switch out so we can open up the diving board?” 

Wooseok had never moved a lane line in his life, but it definitely beat Yohan’s current position, so he nodded quickly and knelt next to the end of the lane line, tactfully ignoring Yohan’s pleading stare. He tried to look down at Sooyoung at the other end to copy what she was doing, but it was too far to see what was going on. He stared down at the place where the lane line was hooked into the wall long enough for one of the older campers to notice and tell him “Um, mister, you have to loosen it first.” 

Flushing red at having to have been told what to do by a kid who couldn’t have been older than ten, Wooseok began unscrewing the lane line from the wall, finally able to unhook it and pick it up. Sooyoung, on the other side, began to walk sideways as she moved the lane line over to connect with another on the right. Wooseok followed her, trying to stand exactly opposite of her. 

And then it all went south. Sooyoung began to pull the lane line towards her so that the middle would line up with the two ends, but Wooseok was not expecting how _hard_ the pull would be. He stumbled a bit, trying to pull the line towards him, but he leaned forwards too much and- 

_“Shi-!”_ He began, stopping himself just in time to not be a Bad Influence on the kids, and just moments before he toppled, head first, into the water. 

He surfaced, wiping his eyes with one hand and still miraculously grasping onto the lane line in the other. He looked up, hoping that no one other than Sooyoung had seen his failure, but instead found what felt like every single person’s eyes on him. He kicked back to the wall in shame, _finally_ hooking the lane line in its proper place and pulling himself- sopping wet clothes, fanny pack, and all- out onto the deck. He looked up, accidentally making eye contact with the one male counselor, who was very clearly unsuccessfully hiding his laughter. Wooseok glared daggers at him, the effect probably ruined by the fact that he was simultaneously wringing out his dripping shirt. 

He walked around the side, stopping just next to the guard stand where Yohan was blinking at him, an expression somewhere in the range of concern, confusion, and amusement. Without saying a word, he replaced Yohan, settling in and accepting that this was going to be a very long, very humiliating twenty minutes. 

And it only got worse. 

Noting dimly that he was shivering, despite it being nearly eighty degrees, Wooseok realized that the umbrella above the stand was shading him and preventing him from drying off quickly. 

_I’m sure I can just close it a bit,_ he thought desperately. 

He reached up, fumbling with the levers that he had no idea how to operate. He saw a promising one, close enough to reach without standing up. As he rotated it, he realized that it didn’t close the umbrella, but rather angled it forwards and backwards. _That could work too,_ he reasoned, and cranked the lever until he felt the sun on his legs. _Just a little more,_ he thought, and rotated it one more time-

\- and watched in horror as it unlatched from its stand and dropped straight down with a dull splash into the pool. 

He slowly tilted his head up to look at the sky. “Why is this happening to me?” He said out loud, past the point of caring who heard. He’s surprised to hear someone laugh, dropping his gaze to where the male counselor was crouching to fish the umbrella out of the pool. He avoided making eye contact as the other boy handed him the damn umbrella, mumbling a “thanks” and not daring to look at him until he heard his footsteps walking away. 

“Why,” Wooseok whispered. “Why me?” 

When Gyujin came to replace him, Wooseok tried to leave as soon as he could- that had been his last shift, and he was free to go home and suffer in the privacy of his room- but before he could, he ran straight into the counselor he had seen laughing at him. (And helping him, but that was not the important part.) The fact that Wooseok had to look up to actually look the other boy in the face did not help any of the negative feelings he already had. 

The counselor— _Jinhyuk,_ his nametag read — smiled slowly as he realized who he’d run into. “Are you always this clumsy?” He asked, in a teasing tone that only helped aggravate Wooseok more. “Or is it just me?” 

Wooseok’s jaw dropped at the insinuation that _Jinhyuk himself_ was the reason for Wooseok’s mishaps. Just because he was tall and had a cute smile and a nice laugh and floppy hair didn’t mean- 

_Wait, what?_

“It- it’s my first day here,” Wooseok said instead, cursing himself for stumbling over his words. “Don’t be so full of yourself.” 

Jinhyuk let out a surprised laugh, throwing his head back and flashing his teeth. Wooseok felt a strange tightness in his chest—probably annoyance. 

“Does that mean you’ll be here lifeguarding from now on?” Jinhyuk asked. “I can’t wait to see what other entertaining rookie mistakes you make, then.” His cheeky grin indicated that he was clearly trying to get a rise out of Wooseok, but it was still working. 

“No,” Wooseok said curtly. “You will not be seeing anything.” 

With that, he continued past Jinhyuk, who called out after him, still laughing, “See you tomorrow!” 

Wooseok ignored him. 

He ran into the other assistant aquatic director, Han Seungwoo, as he gathered his stuff to leave. 

“How was your first day?” Seungwoo asked him with a warm smile. Somehow, Wooseok felt his anger deflating. There was no way he would be able to tell Seungwoo that he never wanted to come back; not with that puppy-dog smile. Besides, up until those last twenty minutes… well, it wasn’t all bad. 

“It was good,” Wooseok said. “But don’t tell Sooil I said that.” 

Seungwoo laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he promised Wooseok. “I’d never give him the satisfaction.” 

Wooseok packed up and headed out to leave, calling out a goodbye to Yohan as he made his way to his car. 

As he drove home, reevaluating his life choices, he thought, _Okay. It could have been worse._

Although, Jinhyuk… well, not everything could be perfect. 

_At least I won’t have to deal with him too much,_ he reasoned. 

(He was wrong. He was very, very wrong.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i gave myself secondhand embarrassment writing this but thats okay because i actually DID do some of these things so :))


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which wooseok does not deal with his feelings (again)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is garbage but it's my garbage and i love it so ty for reading

Wooseok sat in his car for a good ten minutes before he could convince himself to get out and walk into the swim club. He knew, logically, that the day before had not been a complete disaster. Sure, there were some mishaps, but hey— it’s not like he let a kid drown, or anything. 

It would be fine. Besides, no one else had really made fun of him for his mistakes. No one but Jinhyuk, but Wooseok was trying to avoid thinking about him. 

He finally pulled himself out of his car, realizing that if he stalled any longer he’d be late for his first shift. Today was Monday, which meant that there would be swim lessons all day and the pool would be more crowded. It also meant that Sooil would be introducing him to all the coaching staff in order to force him to make new friends. 

_(“There’s only four you haven’t met yet, apart from Sooyoung and Seungwoo,” Sooil told him. “And you’ll like them! I promise.”_

_“But I’m already friends with Yohan,” Wooseok whined. Sooil patted him encouragingly on the back._

_“That’s a great start!”_

_Wooseok’s shoulders slumped.)_

After clocking in, Wooseok made his way to the office where he found Sooil, Seungwoo, Yohan, and Jinwook, along with four others he didn’t recognize. Jinwook and Sooil were busy being a disgusting couple, so Seungwoo introduced them to Wooseok as Changhyun, Seungyoun, Kookheon, and Yuvin. 

Seungyoun greeted him with a wide smile and a high five, which Wooseok returned, although slightly flustered. He was one of the two full-time coaches, along with Changhyun who was quiet but friendly, and gave Wooseok a small wave. 

The other two, Kookheon and Yuvin, were only part-time coaches, who worked mainly Monday through Thursday. Wooseok could tell they were close, because they kept playfully jabbing each others’ sides while they introduced themselves. 

“Don’t mind them,” Seungyoun said, a wicked smile on his face. “The easiest option is to just ignore them. That’s what I do.” Kookheon and Yuvin both turned around, simultaneously giving Seungyoun equally offended looks. 

Sooil, who had apparently finished the gross display of PDA with Jinwook in the corner, finally noticed Wooseok and gave him a sly grin. 

“Wooseok,” he drawled. “I heard you’re already making all _sorts_ of friends!” He looked like he was trying to hold in his laughter, which Wooseok knew was never a good sign. 

Warily, he replied, “What do you mean?” 

Sooil’s grin widened. _Uh oh._ “One of the counselors yesterday was asking for your name,” he said gleefully. “Does the name ‘Jinhyuk’ ring a bell? He seems to have taken an interest in you _very_ quickly.” 

Wooseok paled. “I don’t-” He paused. “Did you tell him my name?” 

Sooil laughed. “No. I told him that would take the fun out of it, and that it would be far more rewarding if he could get it himself.” He leaned back against the desk behind him, clearly enjoying himself. “Now tell me, what did you do to make him so interested in you?” 

Wooseok pursed his lips. “I’ll take the first shift,” he said in lieu of answering, backing out the door. “Nice meeting you, Seungyoun, Changhyun, Kookheon, Yuvin.” With that, he escaped. 

___________________

With five lifeguards at work and only three shifts, Wooseok had forty minutes of free time every time his last rotation ended. He joined Yohan, who had each shift before him. “Do you want to get something to eat?” Wooseok offered. “Seungwoo said that the employees get a discount at the grill.” 

Yohan sent him a relieved smile. “Oh, god, yes, I’m starving.” The grill was on the shallow end side of the pool, and boasted a small selection of greasy food choices on a faded menu board. Seungyoun, though, had insisted that the food was incredible; at least, for a poolside grill. 

A tall, enthusiastic boy greeted them at the counter. “Hi!” He exclaimed, as soon as he saw Wooseok and Yohan in their lifeguarding shirts. “You two must be the new employees! I’m Minsoo. Yein and I work here at the grill during the summer.” He turned around and shouted towards the back, “Yein! It’s the new guards!” Wooseok and Yohan exchanged flustered glances while another, smaller blond boy appeared, offering them a small smile. 

“Did Minsoo already scare you?” He asked them. “He’s very excited to have new employees. It’s been a couple of years since we hired.” 

Minsoo pouted at him. “I didn’t scare them!” He protested. “It’s called being _friendly,_ Yeinnie.” 

Wooseok and Yohan introduced themselves and easily struck up a conversation with the other two, learning that they would be going into their junior year (same as Wooseok), until an annoyed mom behind them in line started loudly complaining about the staff to her husband. 

Wooseok and Yohan walked away with Minsoo’s personal recommendations as Yohan commented, “They were nice.” 

Wooseok sighed, sulking slightly. “I think everybody here is. At this rate, there’s no way I’ll be able to prove Sooil wrong.” 

As soon as he finished his sentence, he heard in the distance the excited screams of the camp kids. “Actually,” he muttered. “I take that back.” He easily made out Jinhyuk from the crowd, his tall stature standing out among the group of preteens. 

Yohan followed his gaze until it landed on the counselor. “Is that Jinhyuk?” He asked. “The one Sooil made fun of you about?” 

“Yeah, he- oh shit, he’s coming this way,” Wooseok swore. Jinhyuk was, indeed, heading straight for Wooseok and Yohan, seeming to perk up as soon as he noticed Wooseok. “He’s just here to make fun of me,” Wooseok groaned. 

Yohan just laughed at him. “I don’t know, Wooseok,” he said. “He doesn’t really seem that bad.” 

Despite Wooseok’s best efforts to escape, Jinhyuk caught up to them almost immediately. _Tall people have an unfair advantage,_ Wooseok thought despairingly. 

“Hey!” Jinhyuk, unlike Wooseok, was all smiles, annoyingly perfect white teeth flashing as he stopped in front of him. “You’re the new guard from yesterday.” 

Abruptly, Yohan blurted, “I gotta go, my shift is starting soon.” He smiled politely at Jinhyuk before walking quickly towards the guard hallway. Wooseok glanced at the clock. Yohan’s shift didn’t start for another ten minutes. _He’s going to pay for that._

Jinhyuk was still smirking at Wooseok. “You never actually told me your name.” Wooseok stubbornly stayed silent. Jinhyuk just laughed at him. “This is usually the part where you tell me,” he prompted. 

“I don’t see any reason why you would need my name,” Wooseok declared. He knew he was being immature, but he was still too upset and embarrassed about the day before to care. 

Jinhyuk blinked, opening his mouth to reply, but he was called over to the camp by one of the other counselors. “Jinhyuk, what are you doing? Come get the kids ready for the swim test.” Jinhyuk snapped his mouth shut. “I have other ways.” He winked, which absolutely did not have any effect on Wooseok whatsoever, and left to join the camp. 

Wooseok, having thirty minutes to kill, decided to grab a table and watch the first half of the camp lessons. It was Monday, so there was a new batch of kids (although a lot of them came every week), which meant all of them had to do the swim test. The kids had to swim twenty-five meters without pushing off the bottom or grabbing onto a wall or a lane line. Most of the kids passed, although Wooseok watched in pity as one of the kids only made it halfway, struggling, before he ultimately gave up and turned to hang onto the wall. 

Kookheon swam over to the boy, ruffling his hair and sitting him up on the deck. “It’s okay, Jinwoo,” he said. “You can hang out with counselor Jinhyuk again. But you got a lot farther than last week!” Although the kid- Jinwoo- seemed somewhat consoled, he still looked disappointed. 

The kids who failed the swim test were allowed to go in the baby pool, although most of them didn’t anyways because they were felt too old for it. The ones who failed, Seungwoo told him, usually just hung out on deck with the counselors so that the lifeguards wouldn’t have to worry about the really weak swimmers. They still attended the swim lessons, though, with extra coach supervision. 

The coaching staff for the camp consisted of Seungyoun, Changhyun, Kookheon, and Yuvin. and all of them seemed to be having a lot of fun with the kids, and did their best to make sure all the campers were having fun, too. About fifteen minutes into the first lesson, Wooseok felt a light tapping on his shoulder. He turned, surprised to find Jinwoo, the kid who had failed his test, smiling up at him. 

“Hi!” Jinwoo said. “I’ve never seen you before. Are you new here?” Wooseok couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. Jinwoo was _adorable._

“Yeah, I am,” he said. “What’s your name?” He asked; even though he had overheard it earlier, he didn’t want the kid to think he was stalking him. 

“I’m Jinwoo!” Jinwoo exclaimed. The boy’s smile grew wider. “What’s your name?” 

“My name is Wooseok,” he told Jinwoo. “Do you-” he began, but the boy had already taken off running, yelling behind him, 

“Thank you! Sorry!” 

Wooseok blinked in confusion, utterly lost until he saw where Jinwoo was headed. _No, no, no-_ Jinwoo stopped directly in front of Jinhyuk, panting, and whispered something into his ear. Wooseok closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. _Outsmarted by an eight-year old. Nice one._

When he opened his eyes, he saw Jinhyuk grinning at him from across the pool. He made a small heart with his hands, and Wooseok flushed red. _I think the heat is getting to me,_ he decided, and quickly got up to hide in the hallway until his next shift. 

Just as Wooseok was getting ready to pack up and leave, Yohan grabbed him by the shoulders and asked, slightly desperately, “Go out with me.” 

Wooseok blinked, unsure of what to say. He decided on, “Um, what?” 

Yohan, realizing what he had said, wrinkled his nose and quickly amended, “Ew, no, not like _that._ I meant that some of the lifeguards and coaches are going out and getting dinner and they said we could come, and I don’t wanna go alone. Like, without you. Because everybody else here knows each other super well.” 

Wooseok shrugged. “Okay,” he agreed. “But don’t ditch me halfway through.” 

Yohan clapped his hands together in excitement. “Yes! Thank you!” But he looked fairly offended as he protested, “And of course I wouldn’t _ditch_ you, what kind of a person do you think I am?” 

Wooseok trailed after Yohan into the office, finding Sooil, Jinwook, Seungwoo, and the four swim coaches all grabbing their stuff. “Are we ready to go?” Seungwoo asked. “Yuvin suggested some barbeque place downtown.” As everyone nodded in general agreement, Seungwoo shooed them all out of the office and towards the exit. “Let’s hurry, then, that place gets busy fast.” 

Yohan, who didn’t own a car yet, got a ride with Wooseok to the barbeque. He took the opportunity to tease Wooseok, much to the latter’s dismay. 

“So,” he drawled, turning in the passenger seat to fully face his coworker. “You’ve only been working there for two days and you already have boys falling all over you?” 

Wooseok let out an indignant laugh. “ _Jinhyuk?_ No. He saw all my… he was there yesterday and he made fun of me for everything I did, and now he’s harassing me.” 

Yohan shook his head in disbelief. “He’s not _harassing_ you, Wooseok. He’s being friendly. _You’re_ the one who seems to be getting very affected by that.” 

Wooseok shot Yohan an affronted glance. “I don’t like what you’re implying,” he told Yohan. 

Yohan grinned. “I wasn’t implying anything. Why are _you_ jumping to conclusions?” 

“I’m not!” 

“Whatever you say- oh, hang on, we’re here.” 

Wooseok pulled into a parking spot in front of a small barbeque place. He didn’t recognize it from his high school days, so he assumed it must be some new place. 

Wooseok followed Yohan inside, spotting the other seven already seated. Seungwoo waved them over, and Yohan smiled and went to sit next to him, which Wooseok raised an eyebrow at. _So much for not ditching me._ Sooil looked up, saying, “Great! We’re only waiting on one more. Ah, there he is!” Confused, Wooseok followed Sooil’s gaze, heart dropping to his stomach as his eyes landed on the one person he did not want to see. 

Jinhyuk looked around for a second before spotting Wooseok, his eyes lighting up in recognition as he started to make his way over. “Why would you do this to me,” Wooseok hissed in Sooil’s direction. 

Sooil innocently widened his eyes and told Wooseok, “All the employees at the pool are friends, and besides; I haven’t caught up with Hyuk in a while. And I’ve know you’ve already met him, so it’s perfect!” 

“You’re going to regret this,” Wooseok warned, just as Jinhyuk reached the table and took the last empty seat, across from him. 

He greeted everyone at the table, each one responding enthusiastically, until he finally looked across the table directly at Wooseok. “And Wooseok! It’s nice to see you again,” he said, with a friendly smile. Wooseok was fully set on ignoring him once again, but Sooil’s Disappointed Face was too much to handle, and he wasn’t about to spend an entire dinner ignoring someone so intent on talking to him. _Even_ if he really wanted to. 

“Hi, Jinhyuk,” he mumbled. Jinhyuk’s answering grin was absolutely _not_ worth it. 

Seungwoo and Seungyoun ordered for the group, picking out all the things that they insisted they _had_ to get. Kookheon, next to Wooseok, had greeted him with a welcoming smile, and now that they had ordered he turned to Wooseok and asked, “So, how are you liking the job so far?” 

“It’s good,” Wooseok replied honestly. “Better than I’d imagined, anyways.” Kookheon laughed, and Wooseok immediately felt comfortable. He talked with the younger and found out that he and Yuvin, who was seated across from him, were starting their first year of college in the fall. Kookheon was funny and talkative, and Wooseok liked him instantly. Unfortunately, this only proved Sooil’s point more, but Wooseok enjoyed the conversation anyway. 

When the food arrived, Wooseok was beyond starving, realizing he hadn’t eaten since his quick lunch break with Yohan. He was about to dig into the food when he noticed Jinhyuk, grinning at him in amusement. “What?” He asked. 

Jinhyuk shook his head. “Nothing. You’re just fun to watch.” Wooseok glared at the other man, piling food on his plate in defiance. 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Jinhyuk shrugged. “You’re cute when you’re grumpy.” 

Wooseok felt his face flush, and flustered, he stuttered, “I- you-” 

Jinhyuk laughed, shaking his head and giving Wooseok one last grin before turning to Yuvin. Wooseok’s stomach felt weird— _probably because I’m hungry_ , he thought. He turned to watch Yuvin feed a bite of the beef to Kookheon before turning and replying to whatever Jinhyuk had asked. Wooseok nudged Kookheon. “You guys are cute. How long have you been together?” Kookheon promptly choked on the beef, waving Yuvin off as he turned back to face him in concern. 

“We’re not!” Kookheon finally forced out. “We’re not together. We’re just friends.” 

“Oh!” Wooseok felt embarrassed. “Sorry, I just assumed-” 

Kookheon cut him off. “No! It’s okay, don’t feel bad. We’ve been friends for about five years now, so we’re just really close.” If Wooseok detected a hint of longing in the younger’s voice, he decided not to comment on it. 

Wooseok looked back at Jinhyuk, who was animatedly telling Yuvin some story about one of the camp kids. Jinhyuk told stories with his whole body, and Wooseok watched in amusement as he waved his arms around, nearly knocking over his water glass twice. 

Sitting down, Jinhyuk’s height was not as apparent, so Wooseok was able to study the rest of his features with a little less resentment. His hair was a dark brown, and it fell into his eyes a bit, meaning every few minutes he had to shake his head to flick the strands out of his eyes. He seemed to always be smiling, and Wooseok had no idea what to do with the warmth in his chest every time he did. Wooseok found himself staring at Jinhyuk’s lips as he talked, but when he finally realized what he was doing he wrenched his eyes away, cheeks burning. _What? What am I doing?_ He thought, pressing a hand to his face to cool it down. 

Jinhyuk, finished with his story and noticing movement, focused his gaze again on Wooseok. “Hey,” he called to him. “Sorry about using Jinwoo. I didn’t think there was any other way I could get you to tell me your name.” 

Wooseok sighed, offering up a small smile. “It’s okay. He’s a cute kid, anyway.” 

Jinhyuk noticeably brightened, beaming in Wooseok’s direction. “I know, right? I love all the camp kids, but if I had to pick any of them to be my adopted son, it would definitely be Jinwoo. Maybe it’s because I spend more time with him because he can’t swim well, but I think it’s just because he’s so adorable.” 

Wooseok cursed himself as felt his heart soften. How could he hate someone who loved kids so much? How could Jinhyuk be a bad person? He found himself pulled into conversation with Jinhyuk about how old he was (only a few months older than Wooseok), about the camp, why he worked there every summer, about being the only male counselor. “Are you not worried about, like... liking one of them?” 

Jinhyuk froze, and Wooseok frowned as the other forced a smile. “Ah… no, not really,” he finally answered. 

“Oh,” Wooseok mumbled, not liking the feeling that he just messed up, somehow. He searched desperately for something to say. “What’s your favorite- uh, movie?” 

Jinhyuk immediately brightened, and Kookheon turned to Wooseok in horror. “Oh, no,” he whispered. “You’re in for it now.” 

Jinhyuk turned red a little, but laughed at Kookheon as he said, “Shut up! I don’t talk about it _that_ much.” 

Yuvin, who had overheard the conversation, turned to Wooseok with a flat expression. “He owns an Olaf onesie. And he _wears_ it to movie night at the swim club. _In public._ ” 

Wooseok couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “Frozen? Really?” He asked Jinhyuk, who defended himself with “It’s a good movie,” almost pouting at Wooseok, which did affect him at _all,_ whatsoever. 

He’s so… Wooseok refused to finish that thought. 

Instead, he watched Yuvin, Kookheon, and Jinhyuk argue playfully about Jinhyuk’s cinematic preferences. He saw Yohan, across the table next to Seungwoo, in the middle of an animated conversation with Seungyoun. He looked happy and content, and Wooseok couldn’t help but forgive him even though he _did_ abandon him although he’d promised not to. 

For the rest of the night, Wooseok watched Jinhyuk as he joked around with the rest of the people at the table. He hadn’t actually _realized_ he’d been staring, until Sooil, catching him on the way out, whispered, “I’ve never seen you look at anyone like _that_ before.” Wooseok, irritated, had only not-so-lightly punched Sooil in the chest. 

But later, driving home, it was all he could think about that. _There was no way that could be true, right?_ But while he had dated before, he could never recall much affection from him towards any of them. A few of them were dates his friends set up for him, and another two were girls who asked him out first. 

Whatever. It didn’t mean anything. Even though he knew, logically, that there was no reason why he _shouldn’t _like Jinhyuk, the taller man still annoyed him. And he _didn’t _like him anyway. No matter what Sooil thought.____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can u tell i love jinhyuk


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i know this is a little late but in my defense i got distracted by at least 4 other fic ideas that i thought of,, 
> 
> anyways enjoy!

Wooseok didn’t need to give himself a pep talk for his third day at work. He was glad, because he would quit if he had to keep doing that every day. He wasn’t ready to admit that he was actually vaguely _excited_ about seeing some of his coworkers again, especially after getting close to some of them at dinner the night before, but he knew that was the case. 

He had the opening shift, meaning that he was the first one there and had to set up all the tables and chairs, but he took a minute to relax before he started his tasks. The pool was usually fairly crowded, and it was a whole different experience to be there alone. It was calming, in a weird sort of way. Wooseok’s previous school year had been exhausting, and all the time he wasn’t doing his homework, he was busy stressing about it. It was… really nice to have this, now. 

Since he had nothing to do until someone showed up, he allowed himself to finally think about Jinhyuk. He recalled the previous night, when Jinhyuk proved himself to be… a lot different than Wooseok had first thought. He thought about the way Jinhyuk smiled when he was _really_ smiling, big and unapologetic. If Wooseok was braver, he would have asked to take a picture. Actually, if Wooseok was braver, he’d be able to acknowledge the way he was beginning to feel about the other man. But after the last time- 

No. He wasn’t going to keep thinking about that. 

On Wooseok’s lunch break, he decided to go back to the grill. Yein and Minsoo were nice, and more importantly: they hadn’t witnessed his failures on his first day. He got in line for the grill; it was more crowded than usual that day, probably because it was hotter than the previous two days. As soon as he took his place in line, he heard a familiar sound: the camp kids, hurtling down the path to the pool. He watched in amusement as the counselors tried in vain to corral them, even though they knew all their efforts would be fruitless. 

Wooseok sighed in resignation as Jinhyuk spotted him and immediately changed courses to join him. 

“You know, I’m pretty sure you have a job,” Wooseok informed Jinhyuk as soon as he was close enough. 

Jinhyuk grinned. “The other counselors can handle it. Honestly, I’m just there to entertain. They’re the actual competent ones here.” 

Wooseok shook his head, turning to hide a smile. “Doesn’t the camp usually eat lunch up by the tennis courts?” 

Jinhyuk nodded. “Yeah, but we come down here every few days because they like the grill food.”

When they reached the front of the line, Wooseok smiled at Minsoo, who greeted him happily. But as soon as the other boy noticed Jinhyuk, he gasped dramatically, with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Yein!” He called. “Guess who’s here!” 

As Yein appeared from the depths of the grill once again, Wooseok wondered if anyone actually kept an eye on the food. 

“Lee Jinhyuk!” Yein shrieked, at a pitch Wooseok had previously thought impossible. “I thought you said the grill food sucked?” 

Inexplicably, Jinhyuk turned slightly red. “Well, what if I just wanted to see you?” He leaned on the counter of the grill, wiggling his eyebrows. 

Yein scoffed. “Of course. Like you haven’t had that opportunity for years?” 

“What? I can’t just pay a visit to my favorite employee?” 

_“Hey!”_

“Employees,” Jinhyuk amended. “I love you too, Minsoo.” 

Wooseok, feeling vaguely betrayed, by both Jinhyuk _and_ Minsoo and Yein, cleared his throat, wanting to order his food before his break ended. “Um, can I-” 

Before he had the chance to say anything, Jinhyuk had grabbed both sides of his face and squished his cheeks, grinning in a way that said he _knew_ he was going to pay for it. “Aw, Wooseokkie, don’t worry, you’re my favorite lifeguard.” 

Wooseok slapped his hands away, quickly turning to Minsoo and Yein before Jinhyuk could see how red his face had become. He didn’t actually know if he was more affected by the grabbing or the nickname. This, unfortunately, only resulted in Yein raising an eyebrow, starting to say, “Wow, Wooseok, I didn’t know-” 

“Don’t!” Wooseok hissed desperately. A slow grin crept onto Yein’s face as he took in Wooseok’s burning ears and blushing face. He laughed, and then attempted a wink. “Whatever you say,” he sing-songed. 

_Why did I think he was the normal one, again?_

Yein looked back at Jinhyuk, who still looked pretty proud of himself. “How much have you been terrorizing the new staff?” 

Jinhyuk looked offended. “How _dare_ you imply that my presence is anything but a gift!” 

“Okay, Jinhyuk. Whatever you need to tell yourself to help you sleep at night.” 

Wooseok tried to tell himself he was _not_ jealous of the fond way that Jinhyuk stared at Yein. 

“Not to interrupt this fun, friendly flirting session,” Minsoo said cheerfully. “But I think the chicken nuggets are burning.” 

“Fuck!” Yein yelled, sprinting off towards the back again. 

Jinhyuk laughed at Wooseok’s surprised expression. “He’s a lot less innocent than you think,” he informed him. “We just treat him like our baby, anyway.” 

He pinched Wooseok’s cheek again, narrowly escaping punishment by pretending to have been summoned by one of the campers. 

Wooseok ordered his food from Minsoo, who didn’t actually _say_ anything, although Wooseok knew the teasing grin on his face had everything to do with Jinhyuk, and the way Wooseok’s face was still bright red. 

When the camp ended and the parents began to pick up their kids, Wooseok found himself pulled into a conversation with Sooyoung and her girlfriend, Jiwoo, who was one of the counselors. When Sooyoung introduced Jiwoo as her girlfriend, Wooseok was initially surprised; they were almost polar opposites. But after seeing them together, he noticed how well they fit together.

For starters, Sooyoung was mostly serious, and Jiwoo was, honestly, a little like a kid herself. But when Sooyoung was with Jiwoo, Wooseok noticed how much she softened. She endured Jiwoo’s endless affection, as well. And most of all, they very clearly cared a lot about each other.

He took care not to note all the similarities between them, and him and Jinhyuk. 

He shook his head, trying not to imagine him and Jinhyuk as a couple. He was really going to need to work on his denial skills. 

He tuned back into the conversation, just in time to hear Jiwoo say, “-plus, Jinhyuk’s been whining about not having a boyfriend for _forever_ -”

“Wait- Jinhyuk’s gay?” 

They both looked at him. Sooyoung raised her eyebrows as Jiwoo unsuccessfully hid a giggle. “You didn’t know?” Jiwoo asked. “I mean, he _has_ been flirting with you for the past three days.” 

Wooseok flushed red. “No he hasn’t,” he denied. “He’s like that with everyone. Like Yein from the grill.” 

Sooyoung and Jiwoo exchanged glances. “Yeah, but they’ve known each other for, like, _forever._ Besides, I think Yein has a crush on Minsoo, anyways.” 

Wooseok blinked. 

Jiwoo laughed again. “Oh my god, Jinhyuk was right: he really _is_ that dense.”

_Jinhyuk has been talking about me?_ He wanted to ask, but he was too afraid they would read too much into it. _Not that they would be wrong._

“Oh!” Jiwoo suddenly exclaimed. “Hangyul’s here.” 

Wooseok frowned in confusion, looking to where Jiwoo was craning her neck. He spotted a brown-haired guy making his way toward the camp, too young to be a parent; more likely an older brother. “Who?” 

Sooyoung smirked a little. “Dohyon’s older brother. Seungyoun has the _biggest_ crush on him. Just watch.” 

Wooseok watched as Hangyul spotted his younger brother, waving him over toward the sign-out table— where Seungyoun was sitting. It suddenly made sense as to why the other man had volunteered to run the sign-outs when he wasn’t even a counselor. 

Seungyoun flashed one of his signature smiles at Hangyul as he approached, leaning back and straightening slightly in his seat. He was saying something to Hangyul, gesturing too widely with his hands to be normal, and Wooseok could see even from the distance that his ears were turning red. Hangyul merely flashed a small smile in return, signing his brother out for the day and waving goodbye. As he left, Seungyoun’s shoulders slumped, his face making a comically drastic change. 

“Hangyul is totally oblivious too,” Jiwoo said sadly. “Poor Seungyoun.” 

Wooseok shook his head and agreed softly, although he was already making a plan in his head. Even if he couldn’t get his own shit together, he was certainly going to help Seungyoun with his. 

After work he offered Yohan a ride home when the younger told him that he always just took the bus. Yohan didn’t live too far from Wooseok anyway, so it worked out well. Instead of heading home, Wooseok suggested they grab dinner; he was hungry, but too lazy to make himself real food. 

As they seated themselves at a small booth in a diner downtown, Wooseok mentioned, “I saw you got close to Seungwoo and Seungyoun yesterday.” 

Yohan brightened. “Yeah! Seungwoo is really nice and easy to talk to, and he told me all about his boyfriend he met at college. And Seungyoun is really funny, although he’s… a little strange. It was nice getting to know them better.” 

Wooseok nodded. “Good, because I need your help with something. It’s for Seungyoun.” As he described his plan, Yohan nodded, agreeing when he finished. 

“That sounds like a decent plan... I just hope you know what you’re doing.” 

Wooseok smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll have a lot of help.” 

After they got their food, Wooseok noticed that Yohan wasn’t actually eating. Instead, he was holding his fork in midair, looking as if he were going through some sort of crisis. 

“Alright,” Wooseok said. “I know there’s something you want to say. Just tell me.” 

Yohan acquiesced, putting his fork down. “Okay, I know you don’t want me to ask, but- what’s going on with you and Jinhyuk?” 

Wooseok’s smile dropped. He had actually planned on talking to Yohan about it that night, but now that the time came, he wanted to back out. “Ah, yeah, about that…”

“It’s okay,” Yohan urged. “You should talk about it. Because that’s healthy. Also… I want to know your secrets.” He dodged a crumpled napkin Wooseok threw at him, laughing as he noticed Wooseok’s pout. 

“Hey, I thought you wanted to help me.” 

Yohan put his hands up in surrender. “I do! But can you blame me for wanting to know about you? You’re not exactly the most open person, you know.” 

Wooseok sighed, knowing he couldn’t dispute that. “You can probably already guess. It’s just a little…”

“Sudden?” Yohan guessed. 

Wooseok nodded. “It’s only been three days. I can’t say for sure yet, but… I’m not stupid. I know I definitely feel _something_ for him.” _Different from before. Jinhyuk wasn’t like… last time._

Yohan grinned. “And to think about how much he annoyed you at first.” 

Wooseok wrinkled his nose. “He definitely still annoys me. _That_ part I’m not confused about.” 

Yohan laughed. “Hey,” he said. “You don’t have to do anything about it yet. Maybe you can just see where it goes, for now. I mean, he definitely likes _you._ ” 

Wooseok made a face. “No. He’s just like that.” 

Yohan blinked. “I thought you were over the whole denial thing?” He teased, although he sounded slightly concerned. 

“I’m not in denial,” Wooseok denied. 

Yohan just sighed. 

“Look, I’ll _show_ you,” Yohan insisted. “Tomorrow. I’ll show you that he acts differently around you.” 

Wooseok unlocked his car, sliding into the driver’s seat. “You can try. But you’ll see; he’s like that with everyone. He’s just… really friendly.” 

Yohan stared at him in disbelief from the passenger seat. “I look forward to proving you wrong,” he declared. 

Wooseok ignored the part of himself that hoped he would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading! your support means a lot, always
> 
> anyways my love for yein really jumped out,, what can i say he's My Son


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh okay so it's been a while because school started and i've been super busy with really no time to update :(( Sorry this is so late and a little short but I hope you like it! I'll be posting more regularly from now on !

Wooseok worked without incident at the club for a good two weeks after his first day. Since most of his job consisted of telling kids not to run and pulling bee stingers out of their feet, he wasn’t given many opportunities to mess up in the first place. He felt he had a good handle on the job, and a good understanding of the other employees, although every so often someone would throw a wrench in that. The wrench was almost always Jinhyuk, who took great pleasure, it seemed, in confusing and aggravating Wooseok to no end. 

(Exhibit A, last week: Wooseok was minding his own business, heading to his next shift, when Jinhyuk called out to him, “Hey, Wooseok! Do you know CPR?” 

“Yes,” Wooseok had answered, confused. “It’s… part of my job?” 

Jinhyuk grinned. “Good. Because you’re taking my breath away.” And then he _winked._

Exhibit B, yesterday: “Hey, Wooseok?” 

Wooseok stopped without turning around, sighing. “Yes?” 

“Can you call a lifeguard?” 

Wooseok whipped around. “What? Why?” He scanned the other boy for any signs of injury or distress. He knew he had made a mistake when he saw Jinhyuk pressing his lips together to keep from laughing. 

“Because… I’m drowning in your eyes.”)

Yohan spent the better part of his breaks explaining how these interactions with Jinhyuk supported his theory, although he was clearly wasting his time: Jinhyuk desired only to aggravate and fluster him. (He had said so himself: “It’s funny when you scrunch up your face and start to- hey wait, where are you-”) 

Wooseok sighed in audible relief as he got in line for the grill. Every other day of the week, he actually enjoyed his job-- but it was Saturday, which he had discovered meant that his day began with four hours of sheer boredom followed by six hours of complete chaos. 

Saturday was Floaty Day, which meant that from noon to 6 p.m., the pool was completely filled with not only kids, but their inflatable rafts, ducks, and inner tubes as well. Wooseok’s personal favorite from the previous week had been the family who brought an entire fleet of pizza slices, and spent the better part of an hour trying to put together an entire pizza. 

The only problem with Floaty Day was that it was utter torture. Wooseok had no way of seeing if anyone was drowning behind the unreasonably large inflated orca whale, and even if he did, there would be literally no way to get to them. Wooseok didn’t consider himself very religious, but he didn’t think he’d ever prayed as much as he did then. 

Wooseok had grabbed his phone once his break started, although he didn’t actually expect the chime of a text message—anyone who would be texting him was there at the pool. Maybe Sooil was right about me needing friends, Wooseok considered dejectedly. 

The text read, ominously, Behind you. Wooseok sighed, refraining from turning immediately to give himself just a few more seconds of peace. 

The evening before, during what Seungyoun declared their weekly Friday dinner, Wooseok had given Jinhyuk his number in a moment of weakness. 

Later that very night, Jinhyuk had felt it necessary to spam Wooseok’s phone with various forms of Frozen media, bad jokes, and stories about the camp. (Although the last ones weren’t completely unwelcome. Wooseok had only known some of the kids for just a few days, but he already had an excessive amount of affection for them.)

A tap on his shoulder alerted him to Jinhyuk’s proximity. Wooseok finally turned around to look at him. “Jinhyuk, I don’t understand why you keep coming to the grill when you don’t ever order anything.” 

Jinhyuk snorted. “But I’d miss all this quality time with you. And you two,” he added to Minsoo and Yein, the latter always appearing whenever Jinhyuk and Wooseok did. 

“You’re spending a lot of time at the grill for someone who hates the food,” Yein said, leaning on the counter. 

Jinhyuk raised an eyebrow at him. “And you’re spending a lot of time letting the food burn for someone who doesn’t want to get fired.” 

Yein, ignoring Jinhyuk, turned to Wooseok to ask, “Are you coming to the movie night next week?” 

Wooseok nodded. “Seungyoun asked me to go, and it’s... surprisingly hard to say no to him.” 

Yein brightened. “Good! He probably told you all about it already, but you’ll enjoy it. All the kids come, and so do the coaches and lifeguards and everything. It’s honestly probably one of the only times I’ve ever seen Seungwoo de-stress.” 

Wooseok almost felt relieved. Although he knew that Seungwoo’s boyfriend tried his best to take care of him, whenever Wooseok saw him he seemed to be dealing with a thousand things at once. 

“Plus,” Minsoo added. “You’ll get to see the famed Olaf onesie.” 

“Hey,” Jinhyuk protested. “The kids like it.” 

“Sure they do,” Minsoo assured him brightly. “Of course.” 

Wooseok ordered his food as Yein retreated to the back, leaving Jinhyuk to defend his fashion choices alone. 

_____

Wooseok was on his third rotation when he was confronted, as Sooil had warned him might happen, with the Parent From Hell.

“Excuse me?” Wooseok startled as a loud, nasally voice called from below him. “Why isn’t the diving board open?” 

Wooseok glanced down to see a sunburnt, balding man squinting up at him. “We don’t open the board when the floaties are in the pool,” he replied. Last week, before his first time guarding for Floaty Day, Seungwoo had told him that they always closed the board during the hours the floaties were in the pool because it was too much for the lifeguards to watch both the crowded pool and the diving board. 

The man was not deterred. “Why not?” He complained. “We came all the way here for the diving board, and it’s not even open.” Wooseok resisted the urge to snort at the man. The diving board was not very high, and entertained most kids for about ten minutes before they got bored of it. 

“It’s not safe,” Wooseok said. 

The man apparently did not see that as a viable excuse. “Isn’t it your job to keep swimmers safe?” He demanded. 

Wooseok could feel himself begin to panic. He opened his mouth and closed it again, unsure of what to say. The man was glaring at him now, arms crossed and impatient. He was just about to force out a reply when he heard another voice behind him ask, “Is there a problem here?” 

The voice was so low and almost threatening that at first, Wooseok didn’t even recognize it as Jinhyuk’s. 

Below Wooseok, the dad was complaining to Jinhyuk, “The lifeguard here won’t open the diving board for some stupid reason.” 

Jinhyuk cocked his head to the side, a dangerous glint to his eyes. “Sir, is your child in the water right now?”

“Excuse me?”

“I said, is your child in the pool right now?”

“Well- I- well, yes-” 

Jinhyuk gave him a satisfied smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Then I’m sure you understand that opening the diving board would pull the lifeguards’ attention away from all the kids with the floaties in the water, putting all the kids in the pool, including your child, in danger?” 

The man sputtered for a few seconds, finally letting out a weak, “But it’s their job-”

“No. It’s their job to keep swimmers safe. Not to cater to the whims of parents who think they know better than the entire pool staff. 

The man gaped at Jinhyuk for a few seconds before ultimately deciding to cut his losses and flee back to his table. 

Wooseok didn’t know what to say, and Jinhyuk turned to him with an unreadable expression. “Don’t let any of these people push you around, okay? You have the authority to make the call on whether something is safe or not. And I know Seungwoo and Sooil would be happy to clarify any... issues.” 

Wooseok nodded slowly, and Jinhyuk’s expression softened. “But I’m always willing to put some officious parents in their place. God knows they need it.” 

Wooseok allowed a small smile. He would never admit it out loud, but the knowledge that Jinhyuk came over and basically fought someone for him made him a little giddy. Jinhyuk studied him for a few more seconds, finally saying, “Well. I should probably get back to the camp.” 

As soon as he turned his back on Wooseok, Wooseok blurted out, “Thank you.” 

Jinhyuk looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Of course, honey.” He said, and winked, leaving Wooseok _far_ less grateful than before. (And maybe a little more red in the face, but that was for him to know and for Yohan to laugh about later.)

________________ 

Jinhyuk found Wooseok again as he was getting reading to clock out, inquiring after his evening plans with a concerningly devious smile. 

“I’m getting dinner with Yohan,” Wooseok shrugged. “Like usual.” 

Jinhyuk’s smile faltered. “You go out with Yohan?” 

Wooseok nodded. “I drive him home, and it’s easier to just go out than to make food. My cooking repertoire consists entirely of ramen packets.” 

Jinhyuk perked up. “I can cook!” He deflated at Wooseok’s raised eyebrow. “Okay, not really. But I can… order a really good takeout.” 

Wooseok had to smother a laugh. “So can I,” he said dryly. “But congratulations, anyways.” 

He sidestepped Jinhyuk, entering his thumbprint and clocking out as he grabbed his bag. “See you tomorrow.” He paused just before he exited through the door. “And thanks again, for, you know…” 

Jinhyuk gave him a soft smile. “Of course. Don’t worry about it.” 

“...Right,” Wooseok said, itching to leave as he felt his heartbeat increase. The _last_ thing he wanted to do was give Jinhyuk any clue of how he was beginning to feel about him. “Well… see you.” With that, he fled towards Yohan, who was waiting by the gate. 

“What was that all about?” Yohan said, motioning towards where Jinhyuk was. 

“Nothing. He was just making fun of my cooking skills, even though _he_ can’t cook either. The best he could offer was takeout.” 

Yohan blinked. “Wait… he offered to buy you takeout?” 

“Yeah?” Wooseok replied, not understanding what was so monumental about that. He and Sooil used to get takeout together all the time.

Yohan just stared at him. “Oh my god. I give up. You’re literally hopeless. I can’t believe- oh my god.” He shook his head and started walking to the car. 

Wooseok stared after him in confusion. “What did I do? Yohan? _What did I do!?_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i think i've finally decided on 10 chapters, but there might be an extra if i feel like it so i'll just leave it undecided for now. after a comment on one of my first chapters, i was also wondering if anyone would want a version from jinhyuk's pov? it would be a separate fic but with new characters and,, obviously, more jinhyuk
> 
> anyways thank you all for reading! sorry for the delay, i'll try to update faster from now on,,


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wooseok is 1000 times better at dealing with other people's relationships.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I'd update more regularly but the truth is I'm so incredibly good at procrastinating that I thought I should just keep it up :))) 
> 
> No but actually school is taking a lot more time than I'd thought so I'm sorry this'll come out slower than I want it to :(

Three days later, Wooseok found himself being roped into helping the camp counselors round up the kids and get them ready to go home. He wasn’t needed anywhere else, because more lifeguards than usual had come—including Hwanhee and Dongyeol, the two soon-to-be high school seniors who came usually only twice a week. (That didn’t stop them from being the kids’ favorites though. It was very probably because they were all on the same level, both mentally and emotionally.) It worked out in Wooseok’s favor, though, because he had his _plan._

Okay, granted, his “plan” to get Seungyoun and Hangyul together was not exactly the most complex, or very well thought-out, but it was better than _nothing,_ which was what was happening currently. At this rate, they would barely speak more than ten sentences to each other before the summer ended. And Wooseok had never considered himself a patient person. 

The plan was this: Yohan was supposed to get to know Seungyoun well enough to find out what his favorite things were; Wooseok was going to do the same with Hangyul, but through a slightly less… traditional route. Once they both had a general list, Yohan was going to _casually_ bring up one of the topics while Hangyul was signing Dohyon out of camp (where Seungyoun, obviously, would be). So the two of them would realize they had something in common, and _finally_ some progress would be made. Theoretically.

Alright, so maybe the plan wasn’t exactly foolproof. But Wooseok figured that if they actually started talking, Hangyul would be able to notice how into him Seungyoun was, and Seungyoun might actually be able to make a move. 

It was unlikely. But Wooseok would rather deal with his friends’ relationship problems than his own, so… 

Unconsciously, Wooseok glanced over at Jinhyuk. As much as he hated to admit it, he had really started growing close to the other boy. He watched with an emotion too close to fondness for comfort as Jinhyuk was almost bowled over by a group of kids clinging onto him and refusing to leave. 

He shook his head, walking over to try and make an effort the detach a few of them and get them dried off and changed. “Hyeongjun!” He called out to the first boy he recognized. “Come on, let’s give counselor Jinhyuk a little break, hm?” He held out his hand, and the boy smiled brightly up at him. 

“Okay!” He said, easily breaking off from the pack. Wooseok liked Hyeongjun. Hyeongjun was nice. 

As the kid grabbed his hand, Wooseok looked up to meet Jinhyuk’s eyes. He was surprised at the warmth in them, something soft and almost _fond_ , although it was probably directed more at Hyeongjun than at him. Wooseok offered a smile smile back, and said, “I’ll take half and you take the other half?” 

“I have a better idea,” Jinhyuk smirked at him, then looked down with a serious expression at all the kids. “Alright, I have a secret mission for you guys,” he whispered loudly. “You need to follow Wooseok to the locker rooms, and the first one who catches him wins!” 

Before Wooseok could even blink, the five other children attached to Jinhyuk were already rushing towards him. He threw one last betrayed look over his shoulder before he took off, but Jinhyuk was only laughing at him, not seeming sorry at all. 

_________________

After herding all the kids into the locker rooms to get changed, Wooseok dropped into a seat next to Jinhyuk, who smiled at him brightly. “Have fun?” He teased. 

Wooseok narrowed his eyes and glared, which Jinhyuk didn’t seem to see as very threatening at all, judging by the way he laughed at him. Now that he had admitted to himself that he at least had some feelings for the other, he had none of his previous denial to prevent him from admiring Jinhyuk as he threw his head back and laughed, eyes catching on his exposed bare neck and wondering if-

“Do you know what we’re seeing for movie night?” 

Wooseok startled from his thoughts, hoping his cheeks weren’t turning red as he shook his head. 

Jinhyuk pouted, leaning back in his chair. “Ugh. Seungwoo refuses to tell me, because he says that I always complain and try to change it to something like Frozen if I know ahead of time, which I _guess_ is technically true, but _completely_ unfair, because-” Jinhyuk cut himself off, glancing at Wooseok seeming almost embarrassed. “Ah, yeah… anyway…” 

Wooseok rescued him. “How long have you been a counselor here?” 

Jinhyuk brightened immediately. “This is my third year! I started the summer before I started university, so I’d be able to pay for stuff, and, I don’t know, I just loved it. Working with kids is probably a thousand times better than working in something like customer service, so I have no reason to stop. Besides, the feeling you get when a kid remembers you from the year before… that’s honestly one of the best parts of this job.” 

_Why does he have to be so_ perfect?

“What about you? How long do you think you’ll be working here?” Jinhyuk’s eyes were wide and friendly, but something in his tone told Wooseok that it was more than just a random question.

Carefully, he said, “I don’t know. I mean, I wasn’t ever actually planning on working here at all. Sooil kind of… forced me.” 

Jinhyuk’s smile faltered slightly. “Oh, right. But you like it now, right? It’s not _all_ that bad. Okay, well there are guys like that one from a few days ago. But that doesn’t really happen that often. Plus I’m here to help, if it does. A- and Seungwoo, and Sooil, and, you know,” he stuttered. “Everyone. Plus, we’re all going to be broke pretty soon. Might as well put that off as long as possible, right?” 

Wooseok stared at Jinhyuk. His ears were red. 

“Plus, everyone here likes you. And- uh, Minsoo would be devastated if you never came back.” Jinhyuk rubbed the back of his neck, ducking his head away from Wooseok. 

Slowly, Wooseok smiled, covering his mouth with his hand so Jinhyuk wouldn’t see. “Well, I could never do that to… Minsoo.” 

Jinhyuk snapped his head up to look at him, happiness evident, and opened his mouth to say something before he was interrupted. 

“Counselor Jinhyuk!” Jinhyuk was cut off as one of the campers approached him. “I think I lost my flip flops. Can you help me find them?” 

Jinhyuk shook his head fondly, a grin stretching across his face. “Of course, Dongpyo,” he said, standing up and reaching out his hand to the kid.

“I can walk on my _own_ ,” Dongpyo declared, pouting, slapping at Jinhyuk’s hand, then leading the way towards the locker rooms. Wooseok suppressed a laugh as Jinhyuk turned to him, raising an eyebrow, and then following the boy. 

Wooseok looked over to the rest of the kids packing up before suddenly realizing he still had a job to do. 

He spotted the kid that Hangyul always came to pick up, and started making his way to him. This could either go very, very badly, or generally okay. Wooseok hoped it was the latter. 

“Dohyon?” He called out. “Is it alright if I talk to you for a little bit?” 

The boy eyed him warily. He was ten years old, one of the older campers, and he seemed fairly mature for his age, and Wooseok suddenly felt like he was making a terrible mistake. Dohyon agreed, though, and followed Wooseok to the edge of the tents. 

“I wanted to ask you about… uh, your brother?” 

Dohyon raised his eyebrows. “What about my brother?” 

Wooseok cringed, realizing he had _not_ planned this out well enough. “Like, what does he… like?” 

Dohyon looked unimpressed. “Sorry, I don’t think you’re really his type.” 

Wooseok’s eyes widened, alarmed. “No! No that’s not- this isn’t- I’m not interested in-” 

“Oh!” Dohyon said, looking more agreeable. “Well then, I don’t know what you wanna know, but he really likes music. And dancing. And he has tattoos, and he likes showing them to people. He likes the Avengers. But he _hates_ bugs.” 

Wooseok almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing. _How had Hangyul and Seungyoun not started dating yet??_

“Thank you,” Wooseok said. “I owe you… uh, something.” 

“It’s okay,” Dohyon said solemnly. “Hopefully your success will be enough payment.” With that, he turned and walked back to the camp. 

Wooseok was left to stare after him in amazement. (And a small amount of fear.)

________________

With a feeling of satisfaction (and slight confusion), Wooseok turned back to the guard hallway. Although he still hated being in that damp hellhole, it took on a new meaning whenever it was time to clock out and leave. 

“Hey, Wooseok,” He heard Yohan call out to him, and his head snapped up to see Yohan heading towards the exit with Yuvin. “I’m meeting up with my sister in town for dinner, and Yuvin’s gonna give me a ride because he’s driving downtown already. Enjoy your single evening of peace!” 

Wooseok shook his head, a small smile rising to his face as he shot an “OK” sign with his fingers in Yohan’s direction although he was almost disappointed. As much as he had complained (only mostly jokingly) at first, he had actually come to enjoy Yohan’s company on the way home. Even if he spent most of the time criticizing Wooseok’s various life choices. 

He ran into Kookheon in the guard hallway just as the other boy was clocking out. He didn’t have many opportunities to talk to him outside of the Friday dinners, since the other boy only came to coach for a few hours every day, but he enjoyed being in his company whenever he did have the chance. Kookheon was energetic but funny, dramatic and extra but not to the point where Wooseok became annoyed. He was usually found with Yuvin, also, and the two of them together weren’t a force to be reckoned with. 

“Wooseok! Thank god.” Kookheon sounded relieved after he looked up to see him walking in. “Would you be able to take me home? Yuvin’s my usual ride, but since he’s, ah, he’s got a date downtown, I decided I could probably just fend for myself.” 

Wooseok nodded, with a small murmur in acceptance, but then widened his eyes as he realized: “Wait, a _date?”_ He repeated. Although he had never really asked, he had just assumed the other boy was single. Kookheon had never said anything about it, either.

Kookheon’s mouth quirked into a small smile. He squeezed past Wooseok towards the lockers and started packing his bag. “Yeah, with his, uh, girlfriend. I think they’ve been dating for a few months, actually.” He avoided Wooseok’s eyes as he gathered up his stuff. “So… are you sure you’d be able to drive me? It wouldn’t be a bother?” 

Wooseok blinked at the sudden change in subject. “Oh- no, of course not. I usually drive Yohan every day, anyway.” Kookheon shot him a grateful smile. 

Wooseok gathered up his own things, heading towards the office to let Sooil know he was heading out. But he stopped short once he registered the scene in front of him: Sooil was standing with his back to the door, holding Jinwook in his arms and swaying slightly. Wooseok couldn’t hear what Sooil was saying, but it was the way he was whispering into Jinwook’s hair, softly, and with so much love, that got to him. 

He blinked a few times, realizing he’d been staring. Neither of the two had noticed him, too caught up in each other, so he decided to quietly walk away and leave without disturbing them. 

As he waited for Kookheon, he tried not to think about it too much. But it was never any use: seeing a love like that always reminded him of his own sad, unfortunate love life. But the image in his head that usually appeared when he thought about it was replaced by soft brown hair, dark eyes, and-

“Sorry to keep you waiting! I’m ready to go.” 

Wooseok startled as Kookheon appeared in front of him, smiling slightly in acknowledgement and pushing the gate open to leave. 

Kookheon followed Wooseok to his car, and although Wooseok was burning to ask him questions, he didn’t want to be insensitive. He couldn’t hold himself back, though, when Kookheon nearly collapsed into the passenger seat, leaning back against the headrest and closing his eyes. “Are you… okay?” Wooseok asked hesitantly. 

Kookheon pasted on a clearly forced smile. “Yeah. I’m just tired. I have a few other jobs besides coaching because… anyways, I just have a lot of work to do. It’s fine, though.” 

Wooseok frowned. He had actually been asking about Yuvin, but he hadn’t known that Kookheon had jobs outside of the swim club. _No wonder he always looks so tired,_ he thought. Wooseok could barely handle his one job; he couldn’t imagine trying to juggle any more. 

Wooseok started the car, instructing Kookheon to type his address into the GPS. Kookheon settled into his seat, closing his eyes as Wooseok pulled out of the parking lot. Wooseok had never been one to enjoy meaningless small talk, but for some reason this silence felt uncomfortable. He wanted to say something, maybe offer his help, but he knew there was little to nothing he’d be able to do. Giving advice was never one of his strong suits; he distinctly recalls doing everything physically possible to avoid it, including very nearly actually running away in one of his worst moments. But this was almost unbearable, to the point where he was considering actually attempting to help. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes until he couldn’t take it anymore. “Kookheon, I don’t mean to pry, but… I thought that maybe- I don’t know, maybe you could use someone to talk to about- well-” 

“I’m in love with Yuvin.” 

There was another long silence in the car as Wooseok recovered from the shock, not expecting the sudden confession and not entirely sure how to react to it. He was just about to open his mouth when he heard a small, “Fuck,” and a choked sob come from the passenger side. 

Wooseok frantically searched for something to say, or to do; he had literally _no idea_ how to comfort someone. “Do you want me to pull over?” He asked. “I can-” 

“No, no, it’s okay,” Kookheon said, wiping furiously at his eyes. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to- it’s just I’ve- I’ve never told anyone before, and I’m… sorry.” 

Wooseok let out a long breath. “How long have you-”

“Three years.” 

Wooseok was silent, then: “Well, shit.” 

At first, after Kookheon didn’t say anything in reply, he wondered if he’d said the wrong thing. He desperately tried to think of something to say that wasn’t _that_ —until he heard laughter. He glanced over at Kookheon quickly in surprise; although tears were still rolling down his cheeks, they stood in direct contrast to the way he was grabbing his stomach and shaking with laughter. 

Cautiously, and more than slightly confused, Wooseok started, “Kookheon? Are... you okay? I’m sorry, that was-” 

“No,” Kookheon interrupted. “I think that sums it up pretty perfectly.” And then he was laughing again, so hard that Wooseok found himself tempted enough to join in. As unhealthy as it probably was to make fun of something that was so important to Kookheon, Wooseok was a little glad he wasn’t letting it break him. 

After they both calmed down, Wooseok asked reluctantly, “Do you want to, uh, talk about it?” 

Kookheon turned to him. “You’ve never done this before, have you?” 

“No,” Wooseok confessed, slightly embarrassed. “Is it that obvious?” 

“Only a little,” Kookheon snorted, “But it’s nice. That someone noticed. I’ve spent all this time terrified that someone would, but also… I guess a little desperate for someone else to know.” Wooseok waited for him to say more. “We, ah, we’ve actually known each other since we were kids. We used to be next-door neighbors, before my family moved, but we stayed friends in high school. He’s a year younger, so we spent this year apart when I went to university. It was nice having time away, but at the same time… I don’t know. I still feel the same as I did a year ago. I was kind of wishing my… _feelings_ would go away.” He said the word “feelings” the same way one might say “maggoty garbage”.

Kookheon paused, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “Except… when I came back, he’d gotten a girlfriend.” 

“Ah.” That explained why he didn’t really feel like getting his usual ride with Yuvin today. 

“And she’s really nice, and pretty, and honestly I could probably never compete with someone like her anyway if Yuvin even _liked_ guys, and-” 

Wooseok reached out to slap Kookheon’s shoulder, and not very lightly, either. 

“Ow! What was that for?” 

“No one’s worth putting yourself down like that.” 

Kookheon peered curiously at Wooseok, trying to see where his sudden force came from, but Wooseok refused to elaborate any further. 

“Sorry. It’s… I’ll get over it. I mean, this isn’t going to last _forever._ ” 

Wooseok didn’t know if Kookheon himself believed that (and judging from the tone of his voice, he definitely didn’t), but he wasn’t about to call him out on it. 

Before he got out of Wooseok’s car once they stopped in front of Kookheon’s house, Kookheon turned to him and told him, “Thank you for… just, thank you. I think I really needed someone to talk to. I- thanks.” 

Wooseok offered him a sad half-smile. “Of course. It must be hard with no one else knowing. I know I’m probably not the best option, but… you can talk to me if you ever need to.” 

Thanking him one last time, Kookheon grabbed his bag and started off towards what Wooseok assumed was his apartment building. 

But as Wooseok was driving away, stuck at a stoplight, he watched in confusion as Kookheon glanced around and turned the corner. _Where is he going?_ Wooseok thought. _Why would he have me drop him off there if he doesn’t live there?_

He almost wanted to follow the other boy, but he decided not to; he didn’t want to invade his privacy any more than he already had. That didn’t stop him from thinking about it, though, wishing he knew what was really going on with the other boy. 

_________________

Barely two minutes after returning home, Wooseok’s phone chimed with the familiar ringtone he set specifically for Jinhyuk. Glad for the distraction from his worrying about Kookheon, he grabbed his phone from his bag and opened up the most recent message. 

_lee jinhyuk:_ okay quick question  
_lee jinhyuk:_ why were you interrogating one of the children today??

Wooseok snorted. 

_You:_ research

_lee jinhyuk:_ okay but  
_lee jinhyuk:_ that was dohyon, right? that you were talking to today?  
_lee jinhyuk:_ hangyul’s little brother?

_you:_ yes…

_lee jinhyuk:_ oh my god  
_lee jinhyuk:_ okay correct me if i’m wrong but  
_lee jinhyuk:_ please tell me this has something to do with hangyul and seungyoun

_you:_ actually… yeah  
_you:_ you know about that too?

_lee jinhyuk:_ HOW COULD I NOT  
_lee jinhyuk:_ literally everyone knows  
_lee jinhyuk:_ they’re so dense  
_lee jinhyuk:_ they almost remind me of someone……..

_you:_ well i couldn’t take it anymore  
_you:_ so i made a plan

_lee jinhyuk:_ oh my god please let me in on this  
_you:_ maybe…

_lee jinhyuk:_ PLEASE  
_lee jinhyuk:_ you do not understand how LONG I HAVE SUFFERED

_you:_ good point  
_you:_ i’ll fill you in tomorrow  
_you_ : actually, i’m going to need your help with something

_lee jinhyuk:_ anything for you ;)

_you:_ nevermind see you tomorrow, jinhyuk

_lee jinhyuk:_ wait no please i want to know now  
_lee jinhyuk:_ wooseok  
_lee jinhyuk:_ wooseok??  
_lee jinhyuk:_ damn

Wooseok caught himself smiling at his phone, and threw it across his living room before he could do something stupid like text back, _Fuck, please go out with me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone say thank u kprofiles 
> 
> maybe i got carried away with the side ships in this chapter.... if it helps at all the next chapter is gonna have so much weishin you'll be sick of them :))


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